ABC11 helps viewers power-up essentials during snowstorm

Following a powerful winter storm that dumped heavy, wet snow across the Triangle this week, ABC11 helped dozens of neighbors in the Massey Preserve Development in northern Wake County power up their essentials with a commercial-grade generator.

By the time the ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson and fellow ABC11 employees showed up Thursday morning, residents on Massey Drive had been without power for more than 12 hours.

"We are packing up and going to a hotel," said Aly Belongia, who had a one-year-old child, a husband who works late evenings, and an uncomfortably cold home.

"We've got gas logs so we do have heat," Belongia said, "but with a one-year-old you have to get in and out of the refrigerator, so it's difficult."

The generator was strong enough to power multiple appliances, like Mike Simmons' deep freezer and refrigerator full of food.

"Can't lose it. Just went out and bought it," Simmons told ABC11.

The ABC11 crew strung out cables to charging stations to feed juice to space heaters, dozens of cell phones, and an iPad belonging to one resident's children.

"They're bored," the resident said. "They have no electricity. They don't realize what it's like to just go outside and play. Yeah, the good old days. They need that iPad."

For many, the power running their heating and lighting systems had been out since 2:30 a.m. and in some cases as early as 1 a.m., which spawned gratitude from everyone we encountered.

"Looked out the window and it was cold in the house, and I said, 'hmm,' I was about to go turn up the heat and looked at it was out," explained Simmons. "I appreciate it. I sure do. Saved me a lot of money. Keep me from doing a whole lot of overtime too."